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ARCHIVED - February 2007 - Volume 7/Issue 2

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FPTT News

FPTT News is a monthly e-publication of news, events, training opportunities, links and information related to technology transfer and commercialization. We encourage you to share the newsletter or items of interest with your friends and colleagues. Please send us your news, events or other items of interest.

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In this issue

Feature of the Month

FPTT 2007 Awards Ceremony and Banquet – Join us for the FPTT 2007 Awards Ceremony and Banquet on June 12, 2007 in Halifax. Once again the Federal Partners in Technology Transfer (FPTT) Awards Program will honour the federal government's leaders in technology transfer and the successful transfer of federal research to those who can best exploit it.

For more details on the FPTT 2007 Awards Ceremony and Banquet – please go to: http://www.fptt-pftt.gc.ca.

For more details on the FPTT Awards Program - please go to:  http://www.fptt-pftt.gc.ca/eng/success/awards/index.html.

News and Information

  • ACCT Request for Proposals for a Coordinator for the Course: Introduction to technology transfer – An important part of ACCT's mission is to provide professional training to Technology Transfer Officers as they evolve into their profession. ACCT follows the tradition of AUTM in this respect. We will deliver the recently renamed "Introduction to Technology Transfer' (formerly Basic Licensing Course) next November in Toronto preceding the Annual General Meeting.

    Each ACCT Course is self funded. Faculty will be a mix of practitioners that are recognized in the field. Most Faculty members attend the entire 3 day session and are available for questions from attending students and mentoring. The purpose of this intensive Course is to develop ties between Faculty and students alike. The Coordinator will be required to balance out the Faculty composition, a small team of recognized technology transfer practitioners enhanced possibly by some consultants or other contributors.  Find out more. (Deadline to submit RFP: March 2, 2007)

  • Flintbox 2.0 – Set to launch February 2007 – No longer just a place for early-stage research and click-wrap licensing, with version 2.0, Flintbox is launching a global IP exchange and matchmaking platform to help bridge the commercialization gap and connect research organizations with industry. Flintbox 2.0 is set to launch in February 2007, with the arrival of extensive new functionality, including Pro Accounts. Find out more.

  • Tech Experts Forecast the Next Wave of Innovation – According to a survey of the world's leading technology professionals, conducted by the Institute for the Future and IEEE Spectrum magazine, here are some of the major advances we can expect to occur in the next 20 to 50 years:

    • "Computation and Bandwidth to Burn" involves the shift of computing power and network connectivity from scarcity to utter abundance;
    • "Sensory Transformation" hints at what happens when, as Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, puts it, "things start to think";
    • "Lightweight Infrastructure" is precisely the opposite of the railways, fibre-optic networks, centralized power distribution, and other massively expensive and complicated projects of the 20th century;
    • "Small World" is what happens when nanotechnology starts to get real and is integrated with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and biosystems; and finally,
    • "Extending Biology" is what results when a broad array of technologies, from genetic engineering to bioinformatics, are applied to create new life forms and reshape existing ones.

    Find out more.

Recommended Articles, Books, Papers and Reports

Articles

  • “Introduction to the research policy 20th anniversary special issue of the publication "Profiting from Innovation" by David J. Teece” , Research Policy, 2006, v.35, n.8, pp.1091-1099.

    This introductory essay reviews the key contributions of David Teece's landmark paper "Profiting from Innovation" published in research policy in 1986. It summarises the contributions of each of the papers in the special issue. It then offers some perspectives on the key themes emerging from these papers, and on the broader challenges facing researchers, strategists and policymakers in the field of technology innovation today. Download essay free of charge at ScienceDirect.

  • Boldrin, M. and Levine, D.K “Growth and Intellectual Property” , NBER Working Paper No. 12769, December 2006.

    Intellectual property (IP) protection involves a trade-off between the undesirability of monopoly and the desirable encouragement of creation and innovation. Optimal policy depends on the quantitative strength of these two forces. A quantitative assessment of current IP policies is given, focusing particularly on the scale of the market, showing that as it increases, due either to growth or to the expansion of trade, IP protection should be reduced. Purchase article for US $5.

  • Cameron, G. and Wallace, C. “Technology Shops: Efficient Pricing in Business-University Collaborations” , Econ. Innov. New Techn., January 2007, v.16, n.1, pp.17-30.

    Recently, business-university collaborations have become the subject of much interest. It is important to distinguish between 'blue-sky' research and more directly commercially applicable research. This paper provides a framework in which to think about the latter. A simple screening model is proposed to study the ways in which a university might sell its research to the private sector. It demonstrates that 'technology shops', where firms pay a fixed fee to join and a relatively low marginal cost for each piece of research, would increase the amount of research commercially developed and would be beneficial to all parties.

  • Encaoua, D., Guellec, D. and Martinez, C. “Patent systems for encouraging innovation: Lessons from economic analysis” , Research Policy, 2006, v.35, n.9, pp. 1423-1440.

    Economic theory views patents as policy instruments aimed at fostering innovation and diffusion. Three major implications are drawn regarding current policy debates. First, patents may not be the most effective means of protection for inventors to recover R&D investments when imitation is costly and first mover advantages are important. Second, patentability requirements, such as novelty or non-obviousness, should be sufficiently stringent to avoid the grant of patents for inventions with low social value that increase the social cost of the patent system. Third, the trade-off between the patent policy instruments of length and breadth could be used to provide sufficient incentives to develop inventions with high social value. Beyond these three implications, economic theory also pleads for a mechanism design approach: an optimal patent system could be based on a menu of different degrees of patent protection where stronger protection would involve higher fees, allowing self-selection by inventors. Download article free of charge at ScienceDirect.

  • Giebe, T., Grebe, T. and Wolfstetter, E. “How to allocate R&D (and other) subsidies: An experimentally tested policy recommendation” , Research Policy, 2006, v.35, n.9, pp.1261-1272.

    This paper evaluates the typically applied rules for awarding R&D subsidies. The authors identify two sources of inefficiency: the selection based on a ranking of individual projects, rather than complete allocations, and the failure to induce competition among applicants in order to extract and use information about the necessary funding. The results suggest that adopting their proposals may considerably improve the allocation. Download paper free of charge at ScienceDirect.

  • Mueller, P. “Exploring the knowledge filter: How entrepreneurship and university-industry relationships drive economic growth” , Research Policy, 2006, v.35, n.10, pp.1499-1508.

    This paper tests the hypotheses that entrepreneurship and university-industry relations are vehicles for knowledge flows and, thus, spur economic growth. Download paper free of charge at ScienceDirect.

  • Reitzig, M., Henkel, J. and Heath, C. “On sharks, trolls, and their patent prey – Unrealistic damage awards and firms' strategies of "being infringed” , Research Policy, 2007, v.36, n.1, pp.134-154.

    Patent trolls (or sharks) are patent holding individuals or (often small) firms who trap R&D intensive manufacturers in patent infringement situations in order to receive damage awards for the illegitimate use of their technology. While of great concern to management, their existence and impact for both corporate decision makers and policy makers remains to be fully analyzed from an academic standpoint. In this paper we show why patent sharks can operate profitably, why they are of growing concern, how manufacturers can forearm themselves against them, and which issues policy makers need to address. Read article.

  • Webbink, M.H. “A new paradigm for intellectual rights in software” , Duke Law & Technology Review, 2005 Duke L. & Tech. Rev. 0012.

    A Winter 2004 article by Bradford L. Smith and Susan O. Mann of Microsoft published in The University of Chicago Law Review suggests that the development and growth of the software industry in the U.S. is a direct outgrowth of the implementation of intellectual property regimes, specifically copyright and patent, with respect to software in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This paper suggests that such patents were neither the sole nor the principal factor for the development of the software industry, that concerns about patents manifested prior to or soon after their application to software have proven true, and that patents are, in fact, not serving the interests of either the U.S. software industry or the consuming public. To that end, this paper advances recommendations for reforming the U.S. patent system as well as consideration of a new schema for protecting software. Read article.

  • Weedon, A. “Material Transfer Agreements: Observations and Comments” , European Intellectual Property Review, 2006, v.28, n.12, pp.597-599.

    Material transfer agreements ("MTAs") are an increasingly unavoidable, unglamorous part of the academic technology transfer environment, but should they be taken seriously and why? Gone are the days when researchers could freely send or receive vials of compound X or animal model Y without considering the legal ramifications of such activities and the sometimes annoying bureaucracy that accompanies it.

Books

  • “IP Value 2007: Building and enforcing intellectual property value – An International guide for the boardroom” , December 2006, Globe White Page publishers.

    Produced in association with NASDAQ, Morgan Stanley, Duff & Phelps, Moody's Investors Service, Deloitte and Thomson, IP Value 2007 is the most comprehensive annual IP publication that focuses on the identification, creation, protection, evaluation and commercial exploitation of intellectual property on a global basis. It is available online or by writing to the publisher, Gavin Stewart, at: gstewart@iam-magazine.com.

  • Hansen, H. (editor) “US Intellectual Property Law and Policy” , Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, May 2006, 224 pages, £49.50, ISBN: 1 85442 866 8.

    'The challenging and insightful essays in US Intellectual Property Law and Policy, a compilation by "six of the best, if not the best, professors of intellectual property law in the United States", clearly manifest the seething tension that is embedded in the DNA of contemporary American intellectual property law – that perennial and inexorable quest to achieve a just but reasonable equilibrium between right holders and the marketplace.' – John A. Tessensohn, European Intellectual Property Review. Order book.

  • Morris, L. “Permanent Innovat!on: The Definitive Guide to the Principles, Strategies, and Methods of Successful Innovators” , Lulu.com, October 2006, 280 pages.

    'This book describes the principles and practices of innovation in simple and practical terms to help institutionalize innovation processes permanently in an organization.' – Seetharama C. Deevi, Gobal Innovation. Download book for free.

  • Phillips, J. (editor) “Trade Marks at the Limit” , Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, June 2006, 320 pages, £62.96, ISBN: 1 84542 738 6.

    'No trade mark practitioner or academic can rest in their ivory tower only concerned with how domestic issues affect the use of marks. Intellectual property is truly a global concept and this is reflected in the composition of [this] new anthology.' – Colin R. Davies, European Intellectual Property Review. Order book.

Reports and Papers

  • “The Smart Spenders: The Global Innovation 1000” , a report by management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

    This study found that no statistical relationship exists between the number or quality of patents and a company's overall financial performance. The report states: 'Conventional wisdom often seems to view R&D as a predictable black box that automatically translates today's innovation investments into tomorrow's profits, even if nobody quite understands how it works [... ]. Innovation often does lead to higher performance but the process isn't automatic.' Download report.

  • Gowers, A. “Gowers Review of Intellectual Property” , December 2006.

    The Review sets out a number of targeted, practical recommendations to deliver a robust Intellectual Property framework fit for the digital age. The principle recommendations of the Review are aimed at:

    • tackling IP crime and ensuring that rights are well enforced;
    • reducing the costs and complexity of the system; and
    • reforming copyright law to allow individuals and institutions to use content in ways consistent with the digital age.

    Download a copy of the review.

    Universities UK response to the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property.

  • Maskus, K.E. “Reforming U.S. Patent Policy: Getting the Incentives Right” , The Bernard and Irene Schwartz Series on American Competitiveness, CSR No.19, November 2006, Council of Foreign Relations.

    America's robust economic competitiveness is due in no small part to a large capacity for innovation. That capacity is imperiled, however, by an increasingly overprotective patent system. Over the past twenty-five years, American legislators and judges have operated on the principle that stronger patent protection engenders more innovation. This principle is misguided. Although intellectual property rights (IPR) play an important role in innovation, the recent increase in patent protection has not spurred innovation so much as it has impeded the development and use of new technologies. Download paper.

  • Woolgar, L. “A comparative assessment of training courses for knowledge transfer professionals in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan” , National Institute of Science and Technology Policy, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, October 2006.

    This policy study looks at training courses for personnel associated with university-industry (UI) links in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan. Across the OECD, governmental policy measures increasingly emphasize the role of universities is assisting economic growth. Research has suggested that an important factor in the successful exploitation of university technologies and knowledge rests on the skills and abilities of those employed in university technology transfer or outreach offices. Download report.

If you have any articles/books/papers/reports that you would like to recommend, please send an email to Rosanne Mensour (rosanne.mensour@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca) with the appropriate bibliographic information.

Technology Transfer Tools

FPTT Training Inventory – Become a player in technology transfer, technology marketing, technology commercialization and intellectual property management and others by exploring the unique training opportunities offered by the various organizations. Consult the FPTT Training Inventory.

(Please note: As a service to the technology transfer and intellectual property community, FPTT will attempt to maintain this training inventory and add new links as they become available. Your assistance is critical to the value and utility of these pages – please let us know of any additional sites to include or broken links to fix or remove. Thank you!)

Technologies from Federal Labs

It's a Bird, It's a Plane... It's a Bird Striking a Plane – Ever seen those silly chicken cannon skits on CBC's Royal Canadian Air Farce?   Few people know that a similar device is used for serious tests. The tests and related research ultimately make air travel safer for Canadians and save money for airlines and aircraft manufacturers.

There are few places in the world like NRC's specialized flight impact simulation facility. Although some companies have flight impact simulators of their own, many manufacturers prefer to rely on NRC for bird strike expertise, accurate calibration and specialized facilities, all of which are required to certify aircraft to meet strict international aviation certification standards. Read complete article. (source: NRC Highlights, January 2007)

If you would like to include information on technologies developed in your federal laboratory in the next edition of FPTT News, please send an email to Rosanne Mensour (rosanne.mensour@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca).

Federal Patents Granted to Canada's Federal Laboratories

If you would like to include information on a federal patent that has been granted to your laboratory in the next edition of FPTT News, please send an email to Rosanne Mensour (rosanne.mensour@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca).

Interesting Links

  • Innovation and Knowledge Management – The Innovation and Knowledge Management practice is part of The Conference Board of Canada's Policy, Business and Society Division. The mission of the practice is to help Canadian organizations to prosper... through innovation, knowledge and technology. The practice integrates Conference Board expertise in the management of technology, knowledge management, connectedness, information technology, organizational effectiveness, leadership, partnerships, education, learning, economics, regulation and taxation. Find out more.

  • Worldmapper.org – Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. Though not specifically focused on innovation, it shows maps for patents granted, growth in scientific research, R&D expenditures. Find out more.

FPTT Meetings and Events

  • FPTT Quebec Chapter Meeting – The next FPTT Quebec Chapter meeting will take place on March 2nd, 2007 in Montreal, QC. Details have been sent to members.
  • FPTT Prairies Chapter Meeting – The next FPTT Western Chapter meeting will take place on March 8th, 2007 in Saskatoon, SK. This meeting will be followed by a workshop entitled "Successfully protecting your intellectual property and technology transfer" on March 9th, 2007 – and is open to all federal government employees who want to learn more about the technology transfer process. If you are an employee of a federal SBDA, and are interested in becoming a member of the FPTT Western Chapter, please contact John Kane (john.kane@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca). For more information on FPTT and its activities, please visit our website.
  • FPTT National Capital Region Chapter Meeting – The next FPTT NCR Chapter will take place on March 29th, 2007 at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in Ottawa, ON. Details will be sent to members shortly.
  • FPTT National Meeting and Awards Ceremony 2007 – The FPTT National Meeting and Awards Ceremony 2007 will be held on June 12, 2007 in Halifax, NS. Further details are available at: http://www.fptt-pftt.gc.ca/.

Training Opportunities

Ongoing

  • New! Certificate in Intellectual Property and Commercialization Management
    University of Manitoba, in partnership with the Technology Transfer Office
    More information and to register.
  • Business Development Academy (BDA)The BDA is committed to providing unparalleled educational opportunities to the business community. Their mission is to develop a curriculum and recruit the instructors that will best serve our members in developing the critical thinking skills necessary to grow their businesses. They strive to present lectures that provide our members with key insights into core business development competencies as well as furnish speakers that discuss breaking businesses trends.
    December ,
    More information and to register.

February 2007

  • IP in Corporate Transactions

    February 19, 2007 in Montreal, QC (in french)
    February 27, 2007 in Toronto, ON
    February 28, 2007 in Calgary, AB

    Intellectual Property Institute of Canada
    More information and to register.

    ***Registration Deadline: February 5, 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

  • ACCT Intermediate Licensing Course
    Alliance for the Commercialization of Canadian Technology
    June 12, 2007
    Halifax, NS
    More information and to register.
  • Advanced Valuation Skills
    Licensing Executives Society (USA-Canada)
    June 13, 2007 to June 14, 2007
    Philadelphia (USA)
    More information and to register.
  • International Intellectual Property Law - A summer program for lawyers and other professionals

    Delivered by a partnership of University of Victoria, University of Oxford, Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre and University of Illinois College of Law

    University of Victoria, University of Oxford, Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre and University of Illinois College of Law
    June 29, 2007 to August 10, 2007
    Oxford, England
    More information and to register.

July 2007

September 2007

Upcoming Events

February 2007

  • LES 2007 Winter Meeting
    Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada)
    February 21, 2007 to February 23, 2007
    San Francisco (USA)
    More information and to register.
  • 4th International Intellectual Property Forum – Quebec (FORPIQ)
    International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, and International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys
    February 22, 2007 to February 23, 2007
    Montreal, QC
    More information and to register.

    ***Please note: each presentation will be simultaneously translated (french/english)

  • "Business Development Through Technology Transfer"
    IPTEC
    February 28, 2007 to March 2, 2007
    Palais des Festivals, Cannes
    More information and to register.

March 2007

April 2007

  • NBIA International Conference on Business Incubators
    National Business Incubation Association
    April 1, 2007 to April 4, 2007
    Seattle (USA)
    More information and to register.

May 2007

June 2007

September 2007

  • 41st World Intellectual Property Congress
    International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
    September 6, 2007 to September 11, 2007
    Boston (USA)
    More information will be available shortly at: http://www.aippi.org

October 2007

February 2008

  • 2008 AUTM Annual Meeting
    Association of University Technology Managers
    February 28, 2008 to March 1, 2008
    San Diego (USA)
    More information

May 2008

October 2008

  • LES Annual Meeting 2008
    Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada)
    October 19, 2008 to October 23, 2008
    Orlando (USA)
    More information will be available shortly at: http://www.usa-canada.les.org/meetings/

February 2009

  • 2009 AUTM Annual Meeting
    Association of University Technology Managers
    February 12, 2009 to February 14, 2009
    Orlando (USA)
    More information

May 2009

October 2009

  • LES Annual Meeting 2009
    Licensing Executives Society (USA & Canada)
    October 18, 2009 to October 22, 2009
    San Francisco (USA)
    More information will be available shortly at: http://www.usa-canada.les.org/meetings/

Jobs Available

  • New! Job opportunities in Science & Technology Policy (Greece)
    Organization: Atlantis Research Organisation

    Atlantis Research Organisation has developed since 1992 one of the most specialised Units of Science & Technology Policy (STP) Studies in Greece, working with the best acclaimed organisations in the E.U. and focusing on Policy Analysis and Research.

    In light of the potential for further growth, we are looking to fill the following highly challenging and rewarding positions:

    • S&T Policy Director (Ref: STPD)
    • S&T Policy Consultant (Ref: STPC)

    The ideal candidates should have at least 10 years of experience for the post of Director and between 2-7 years for the Consultant in some of the following or similar fields: research evaluation; impact assessment; foresight & research and innovation policy analysis. The roles involve preparing STP studies, writing scientific papers, participating in conferences, developing contacts, strategic planning, submission of proposals, and monitoring of new calls.

    The positions are located in Athens or Thessaloniki. Interested candidates should send their CV in English to info@atlantisresearch.gr, quoting the reference(s) above.

  • New! Life Sciences Marketing/Technology Transfer Associate (Germany)
    Organization: Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum

    The Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany (http://www.dkfz.de) announces the opening for two full time, experienced scientific professionals for the commercialization of technologies and the management of the intellectual property.

    Read job description
  • New! Director, Office of Patents & Licensing/Business Development (New York City)
    Organization: McCooe & Associates, Inc.

    Responsibilities include:

    • Identify, evaluate, patent, license, maintain royalties for Intellectual Property generated within this 140-scientist research organization
    • Principal to resource, negotiate, and evaluate technologies. 
    • Advisor to senior management for IP transactions. 

    For more information, please contact: Sean J McCooe (phone 201-445-3161).

    Read job description
  • New! Project Manager – Engineering & Physical Sciences (Calgary)
    Organization: McCooe & Associates, Inc.

    The Project Manager, as a member of the Licensing and Business Development team, will facilitate the licensing and commercialization of primarily physical science-based technology, including but not limited to technologies and software in the wireless and telecommunications industries. The PM – E&PS will manage a portfolio of existing technologies and will be responsible for working with clients to identify and evaluate new inventions for commercial potential, marketing to and initiating contacts with potential licensees, and negotiating and closing license agreements with industry partners. The PM – E&PS will also be responsible for developing intellectual property protection strategies for the technology portfolio under her/his management.

    For more information, please contact: Sean J McCooe (phone 201-445-3161).

    Read job description
  • New! Various
    Organization: PARTEQ Innovations

    PARTEQ Innovations, a leader in advancing promising university research from the laboratory bench to commercial products, is growing. We are looking to fill a number of new positions, including:

    • Director of Commercial Development, Chemistry and Materials
    • Director of Commercial Development, Life Sciences
    • Manager of Commercial Development, Engineering and IT
    • Patent Agent
    • Commercial Development Analyst(s)
    Read job description
  • New! Technology Transfer Manager
    Organization: University of Saskatchewan

    The University of Saskatchewan has a position available for a technology transfer manager in the vet/med area. If interested please contact Doug Gill (doug.gill@usask.ca) Managing Director of the Industry Liaison Office. (Deadline: open until filled) 

    Read job description

If you would like to include a job posting in FPTT News, please send an email to Rosanne Mensour (rosanne.mensour@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca).

Other Electronic Newsletters

FPTT invites our readers to help us improve FPTT News. Please feel free to send your comments or suggestions concerning any aspects of the newsletter to Rosanne Mensour (rosanne.mensour@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca).

FPTT welcomes voluntary contributions of articles, case studies, news items, useful links and upcoming events of interest to our readers. If you have recently spoken at a conference, changed jobs, or have been nominated for an award, please let us know and we will be glad to highlight your accomplishments. Thank you.

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Date Modified: 2007-09-05

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